drug abuse and diversion. the white house's drug control policy director testified first, providing an update on the administration's prescription drug abuse prevention plan released in 2011. according to the centers for disease control and prevention, approximately 27,000 unintentional drug overdose deaths occurred in 2007. in about 45 minutes, we'll hear from attorneys general of kentucky, florida, and ohio discussing their state's efforts to prevent prescription drugs from being diverted to illegal markets. >> good morning. if statistics hold true, by the time this hearing is over, ten americans will have tragically and i believe needlessly died from prescription drug overdoses. today prescription drug abuse is a deadly, serious, and rapidly escalating problem across our nation. we have a solemn obligation to tackle this epidemic head-on, and i'm going to keep beating the drums until congress, the fda and the dea come up with a comprehensive plan for action. i recognize her statement for opening statement. and the clock is not working. that's all right for me. it won't be all right for y'all, though. so don't get

of asia and what are some possible alternatives looking back at the two thousand and twelve drug policy control report at the white house released last week their idea of solutions is basically drug courts and pushing people into rehab instead of incarcerating them i don't think this changes i mean that's that is a strategy the white house strategies what they what they decided to do that's they're calling innovative it's not really innovative is for users the white house still does not have a solution to black market violence which we're seeing in social american south america you know i mean some countries are even refusing to participate in our drug war program because they're so terrified of this and and the roof occasions inside colombia is very slow i mean colombia is touted as a model because of the colombia plan in the one nine hundred ninety s. the way the united states went after cartel leaders down there is that this is colombia is the model going forward colombia no longer wants to fight the drug war they're not interested in this anymore felipe calderon is slowly mexico's president

prescription drug abuse has been a major focus of the office of national drug control policy since my confirmation. i'm particularly indebted to chairman bono mack for calling me up to her office in the first week that i was in office to really begin to educate me about an issue that frankly three years ago was not on the public's radar screen, but is clearly in front of the public today. i included prescription drug abuse as a initiative as part of the administration's national drug control strategy. as has been mentioned, it's been categorized as a public health epidemic by the centers for disease control and prevention. the scope of nonmedical use of pharmaceuticals is striking. cdc found in 2008 that the opioid pain relievers were involved in 8,000 deaths and are involved in more overdose deaths as has been mentioned than heroin and keck cain combined. the vast majority of pharmaceutical drugs originally enter into circulation through a prescription. the quantity of prescription painkillers sold to pharmacies, hospitals and doctors offices has quadrupled from 1999 to 2010. when i

drug diversion and our members actively work on numerous solutions. we support a number of federal and state policy initiatives. dea has implemented comprehensive regulations for a closed system to minimize the diversion of controlled drugs. our members have developed extensive policies and procedures to comply with dea's regulatory regime. some are requirements from state agencies such as boards of pharmacy and narcotic drug agencies. a complex regulatory and policy matrix of checks and balances protects americans. chain pharmacies have zae row tolerance for prescription drug diversion. we have implement add havevarief extensive and robust loss prevention and internal security systems from our prescription drug distribution centers. examples include that we conduct whack ground checks and random drug testing, extensive dea training within 30 days of hire, maintaining electronic inventories of controlled substances with random auditing, use of camera surveillance, closed circuit television, heavy duty safes, and complex alarm systems, training employees on how to handle suspicious prescription, and internally investigating unusually large drug orders. chain pharmacies support and comply with state monitoring progra

everything from a prescription drug abuse problem with the federal drug administration; we're working with the office of national drug control policy on some of our substance abuse issues, particularly targeting young people and older adults. we're also looking, working with the centers for disease control. we're just working and working with our partners. we're asking states to do exactly the same thing. we want to give out the messages that we are trying to bring behavioral health into the primary world of health. meaning, and in a much simpler way, bringing substance abuse and mental health issues to the world of physical health. dr. greene, final thoughts? i would like to just say that promoting the community think tanks such as dc rock and other such initiatives that are there to help and provide additional services, they address needs... are a way for us to combine the health care professionals to outside community organizations so we aren't out there alone. there are other people who are working on these initiatives, and we need to combine our efforts. jane, final thoughts? one final thought: i think it's really helpful when

and keith, how important is it that the office of national drug control policy now has an office on recovery issues? i think that is-i would have to say personally, one of the things i am most proud of the time i was there and very grateful to director kerlikowske for seeing the value of that. and again to tell a personal anecdote, when i would tell friends of mine who are in recovery they would often choke up, just the thought, they felt like at last we've made it, there's an office in the white house that's focused on us. and so just that office existence, i think, is very important to just remove the shame and help, i hope, roll back the discrimination that recovery people often encounter. and the other thing to add to it, it's good to have the office but it has to be very active, so it's been important that the director, the deputy director had been out at the recovery marches, have involved recovery people in the development of drug policy listening sessions participation, because there's so much wisdom among people who have experienced this problem about how to help the people and we h

coming up, a drug control policy expert talks about the problem and why experts are worried about a new wave of addiction. >>> and remember the group that tried to stop mcdonald's from using toys to market the happy meals? what a judge thinks about that class-action lawsuit. >>> and later on the news at 5, find out why wine drinkers in maryland will be able to bring their favorite bottles to the favorite restaurants. sue. >>> and hello, maureen and laura, a beautiful looking day. 15 degrees cooler and maybe 16 degrees cooler than yesterday. a good amount of sunshine getting through the clouds and the showers passing to the south. coming up, a first look at the forecast and we'll let you know who is going to watch out for freezing temperatures again overnight. fox 5 news at 5 will continue. [ female announcer ] with xfinity, you can always expect more. like more on demand shows and movies than ever. and more ways to discover them too. plus more speed from america's fastest internet provider. so you can run more devices at the same time. ♪ feel a firework [ female announcer ] and best of

more than $38 million went to the office of national drug control policy even though after 40 years and trillion dollars spent the group says drug use among teenagers has increased in the last three years. the good news is that overall earmarks are at their lowest level in many years, we can take a look at the numbers. in 2010 there were earmarks totaling $6.5 billion -- $16.5 billion, but that went down to $3.3 billion in 2012. as senator mccain says, members are still trying to put them into their bills. >> isn't that a damning indictment of the mindset of members of congress that we can't pass a bill unless we pay people off? >> reporter: the group says earmarks are passed under different names which means the whole process has become even less transparent. rick? rick: all right. steve centanni in washington, thanks, steve. jenna: president obama's buffett rule failed last night in the senate. this issue, the issue of taxes, is sure to be a big one in november. our next guest who voted to block the buffett rule says instead of a new tax we need tax reform. ohio senator rob portman is

health care professionals, drug manufacturers, patients, and even the care dwifrs. and we will work together to shape policy to control the misuse of pain medications we must recognize that the overwhelming majority of individuals including millions of senior and cancer patients rely on these important medications to help treat their pain. in our collective efforts to curb drug diversion, we must carefully but not inadvertently punish the patients who need these medications. we should punish the criminals who illegally acquire and sell these products outside the normal chains of distribution. members are committed to the safe and reliable manufacturing and delivery of generic drugs. we have invested millions of dollars in technologies and deliver systems to help assure that our products reach our destinations safely and securely. our industry works with the dea through the closed system that you've heard about before of distribution to prevent diversion and also to ensure they do not fall in the hands of abusers, drug allotment and accountability systems to ensure against loss and diversion of controlled substances. s

control regime if they did legalize. caller: i was wondering how congress could approach attacking u.s. drug policyhen large portions of the economy are sustained by it. there is a large impoverished rate in mexico at least. guest: if you were talking about afghanistan, you would be right. the drug trade is central to the economy as a whole and certainly to the rural sector. mexico has $1 trillion gdp. drug accounts for probably less than 1% of that. it may be more important in some areas than others. it is an important myth to dispel that this is the central activity, economic activity for mexico. it is an important source of instability but not an important economic activity. host: $49 billion over four years for law enforcement, $6 billion set by the department to expand by the department of defense since 2005. will that stay the same? guest: there is no sign the u.s. is changing its view about the importance of interdicting drugs on their way into the country or of reinforcing -- supporting the military and police in mexico and central america. we spend $1 billion here and there for these thing